StarLand
The United Kingdom of StarLand, commonly known as StarLand, Aetheria or the United Kingdom of the Peace Isles, is a Future Tech country ruled by Grand Admiral Telek in the northeast of the Toy Islands. The country occupies a circular shaped island which was originally a collection of smaller tropical islands and atolls, although these were eventually transformed into the current single landmass through land reclamation projects. It is bordered by Meziljava to the northwest, Muzaffaridistan to the north, Rhandona to the east, Trevallyland to the south, and Kalpala to the west. Although great emphasis is put on personal freedoms and civil rights, and despite the fact that state has implemented progressive social policies in education and welfare, the government has great control over StarLandic society and has been described as "benevolently omnipresent". The National Aetherian Military Enforcement (NAME) is a particularly well known part of the pervasive security force, which has kept crime rates extremely low, to the point that the nation has been described as one of the safest in the region. Although the island nation makes use of much reclaimed land, StarLand is widely considered to be a very environmentally sustainable nation as a whole due to the government's persistance in keeping the native ecological structure as intact as possible. History Colonisation Abduction In 1585, the British Empire lost contact with its outpost in Aetheria, one of the reasons leading up to the Anglo-Spanish war. In actuality, the entire population of the colony had been abducted by the Romulans, an extraterrestrial race capable of faster than light travel. On the 5th January 1585, the Romulan ship carrying the Aetherians was attacked by rogue Romulan merchants. The Romulans then travelled to the Romulan colony world of Romii, where the Aetherians were used as slave labor. On the 17th April 1637, the Aetherians rebelled against their Romulan masters and stole the IRW Dathe. They then used the ship to attempt to reach Earth, but due to the Aetherians’ almost total inexperience with warp technology, they spent many years roaming the alpha and beta quadrants of the galaxy before reaching Earth. Rediscovery Contact with a future technology state was established when Starland starships approached Earth and were intercepted by the Teddy Air Armed Forces on 12th June 2008. Initially, communications were kept secret, before permission to publically land at the TBRE’s NATO Barentinvargen was granted with an international delegation present. The rest of the year was marked by agreements as to the relations between terrestrial and Starland peoples. This included the signing of the Treaty of Archiva, which limited sharing of “future” technology to prevent cultural shock and destabilization of society in line with the StarLand Code of Ethics, with limited exceptions. Additionally, work began on an artificial island around Aetheria, the original home of the Starlanders prior to being kidnapped by Romulans. Geography StarLand is widely considered to be an environmentally stunning nation, scoring 345.75 Pounds of Wildlife less Pounds of Concrete per square mile, and 181 metres of sunlight above expected. The high level of sunlight caused by the low pollution in the country is believed to be one of the many reasons why a bright star is at the centre of the flag. When StarLand was first colonised by the British it was named Aetheria. The British had only colonised the larger island. Eventually, when the British started to spread out across the islands, the name was changed to the Peace Isles. This is believed to be because of the peaceful nature of the islands, and the lack of resistance to the British arrival. In recent times, however, the Peace Isles are now more commonly known as StarLand because each of the individual islands were joined together when the StarLandics returned after having been abducted by the Romulans and began reclamation works in the area. Whilst it is true that StarLand is a primarily artificial island, nature is still at the heart of the nation's psyche. Much care was exercised to preserve the ecosystem of each island, although marine habitats were inevitably damaged from land reclamation. Politics Government StarLand is primarily described as a parliamentary democracy with some elements of a presidential system. The electorate of StarLand directly elect representatives to sit in the lower house of the legislature, the House of Commons. The electorate also directly elects the Grand Admiral, who must hold the confidence of the House of Commons in significant areas, but otherwise has no formal term limits and can theoretically rule for life. The Grand Admiral is the head of state and government, and also appoints members of society with outstanding honor to sit in the upper house of the legislature, the House of Lords. Proposals for legislature may be directly raised up by members of the electorate for consideration and debate by the House of Commons. Legislation must be countersigned by the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Grand Admiral. The judiciary of StarLand is independent of the other branches of government. Foreign relations Military Economy Transport Air travel in StarLand has been banned and limited to government use due to environmental concerns. Instead, citizens of StarLand have unlimited free access to other types of public transport including trains, boats, buses, trams, etc. As a result of the Air Travel Ban (ATB) citizens wishing to catch international flights are required to travel to the next nearest airport in a bordering country to catch a flight. This has caused some issues as many citizens require multiple visas for international travel. Energy The StarLandic government attempts to keep the country environmentally sustainable as possible, and as a result, the primary source of energy is StarLand are Matter Anti-Matter reactors similar to those used to power starships in the Royal StarLandic Fleet. Others sources of energy include solar power, wind power, wave power and hydroelectric power. Science and technology StarLand is a civilisation with faster-than-light transport technology, and is much further ahead in its technological advancement compared with the rest of the world. Demographics Culture Because of StarLand's abduction in the late 1500s, the culture development of StarLand has been rather limited. As a result, the majority of the culture today has been greatly inspired by Romulans. In recent efforts made by Grand Admiral Telek to increase the general culture in StarLand, there has been growth in the Arts, most notably in music and the visual arts. Literature Writers in StarLand do not often earn an international reputation. Most of the literature to be written in StarLand is inspired by the Romulan abduction and also by Romulan folklore. Music Although the music that is performed in StarLand was not originally composed StarLand, music has become a very important part of StarLandic culture. Some of the country's favourite pieces include Tchaikovsky's "Concerto pour piano no 1" and Vivaldi's "Stabat Mater Nisi Dominus Concerto G Minor". More modern pieces that are also popular in StarLand include "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede and "September" by Earth Wind & Fire. Although StarLand has no original composers, there are many artists in StarLand that take well known pieces and perform them again with a little "twist". This "twist" has often been compared to a remix or DJs changing songs. Visual arts Cinema Media Philosophy Sports Symbols Category:States Category:StarLand